System and method for uplink data transfer in dynamic timeslot reduction

ABSTRACT

A method for communicating with a network is presented. The method includes receiving an assignment of first timeslots for uplink communications, and receiving an instruction to reduce monitoring to a set of timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots less than a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with the assignment. The method includes receiving a negative acknowledgement of a data block previously transmitted to the network, and, after receiving the instruction to reduce monitoring and the negative acknowledgement, transmitting a new data block to the network before retransmitting the data block previously transmitted to the network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/862,529, filed on Aug. 24, 2010, and entitled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORUPLINK DATA TRANSFER IN DYNAMIC TIMESLOT REDUCTION.”

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to data transmission protocolsin mobile communication systems and, more specifically, to a system andmethod for uplink data transfer in dynamic timeslot reduction (DTR).

As used herein, the terms “mobile station” (MS), “user agent,” and “userequipment” (UE) can refer to electronic devices such as mobiletelephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld or laptopcomputers, and similar devices that have network communicationscapabilities. In some configurations, MS may refer to a mobile, wirelessdevice. The terms may also refer to devices that have similarcapabilities but that are not readily transportable, such as desktopcomputers, set-top boxes, or network nodes.

An MS may operate in a wireless communication network that provides fordata communications. For example, the MS may operate in accordance withGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and General Packet RadioService (GPRS) technologies. Today, such an MS may further operate inaccordance with Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), EnhancedGPRS (EGPRS), Enhanced GPRS Phase 2 (EGPRS2), or GSM EDGE Radio AccessNetwork (GERAN).

To communicate with a network, an MS is configured to use a media accesscontrol (MAC) protocol to determine the uplink (UL) and/or downlink (DL)communication resources available for use by the MS. GPRS, for example,uses a timeslot structure similar to that of GSM, but where timeslotsare dynamically allocated to MSs both for uplink and downlinktransmissions. To communicate with a GPRS network, therefore, an MS maybe configured to have a multi-slot capability that enables the MS to usebetween one (1) and eight (8) timeslots per carrier for data transferbetween the MS and network. Because uplink and downlink channels arereserved separately, various multi-slot resource configurations may beassigned in different directions in different communications networks.

In some cases, an MS may be allocated timeslots on dual carriers. A dualcarrier ‘assignment’ comprises a set of timeslots assigned on twocarriers. In the case of an uplink dual carrier assignment, theassignment includes the total set of timeslots on both carriers that maybe used by the MS for uplink transmissions; in the case of a downlinkdual carrier assignment, the assignment is the total set of timeslots onboth carriers upon which the network may send data to the MS.

For any given radio block period, the network dynamically allocatesresources and determines upon which downlink timeslots or uplinktimeslots the MS may receive and/or transmit data. In basic transmissiontime intervals (BTTI), a given radio block period can include 4 TDMAframes with each TDMA frame including 8 timeslots. The allocationalgorithm may be implementation dependent, but may take account of theMS's multislot class (the maximum number of timeslots on which the MScan transmit or receive, and the time required to switch from transmitto receive and vice versa), and may take account of the amount of datathe network (e.g., a base station controller (BSC)) expects the MS toreceive or transmit.

In some cases, reduced transmission time intervals (RTTI) are used forcommunication with an MS. RTTI are a modification to the above structurewhere, instead of a radio block being transmitted as four bursts witheach block being sent in a particular timeslot over four TDMA frames, aradio block (containing essentially the same amount of information) istransmitted using two timeslots in two TDMA frames. This reduces thetransmission time for a block and reduces the overall latency of thesystem. Accordingly, a “reduced radio block period” can be 2 TDMA frames(approximately 10 ms) compared with a basic radio block period, whichcan be 4 TDMA frames (approximately 20 ms).

In EGPRS systems, a radio block containing RLC data comprises a headerand one or more RLC data blocks. The header (which is relativelyrobustly encoded) may be successfully decoded independent of the failureor success of decoding the one or more RLC data blocks. The headerindicates the sequence number(s) of the RLC data blocks and (fordownlink blocks) indicates the identity of the intended recipient MS.Provided that the header was decoded correctly, each of the RLC datablocks may be either successfully or unsuccessfully decoded. Forexample, in attempting to decode a radio block containing 2 RLC datablocks, an MS may decode the header and one of the RLC data blockssuccessfully, but may fail to decode the other RLC data block.

In a network, uplink allocations can be signaled to an MS using anuplink state flag (USF), which is a number between 0 and 7 (inclusive)that is signaled in downlink radio blocks. As part of the MS's uplinkassignment, the MS is informed of which USF(s) on which timeslot(s)indicate an uplink allocation for that MS. USFs are generally includedin the headers of downlink blocks. In the case of RTTI, USFs may becoded across radio blocks across four TDMA frames, for example, in thesame manner as downlink BTTI radio blocks are sent (e.g., “BTTI USFmode”) or (using two timeslots) across two TDMA frames (e.g., “RTTI USFmode”).

In some communication standards, there are “m” timeslots assigned forreception and “n” timeslots assigned for transmission. Thus, for amultislot class type 1 MS, there may be Min(m, n, 2) reception andtransmission timeslots with the same timeslot number. For a multislotclass type 2 MS, there may be Min(m, n) reception and transmissiontimeslots with the same timeslot number. In the case of downlink dualcarrier configurations, if timeslots with the same timeslot number areassigned on both channels, in calculating the value of m they may becounted as one timeslot. As a result, where both downlink and uplinktimeslots are assigned, if assigned a single timeslot in one directionand one or more timeslots in the opposite direction, the timeslot numberof the first timeslot may be the same as one of the timeslot(s) in theopposite direction. Similarly, if assigned two or more uplink timeslotsand two or more downlink timeslots, at least two of the uplink anddownlink timeslots may have a common timeslot number. As a result, inuplink+downlink assignments, the timeslots that may be monitored forUSFs and downlink data blocks may be largely co-incident. In somenetworks, assignments and allocations are essentially under the controlof the network (for example, the BSC).

During an ongoing packet data session, for example, an MS with anassigned downlink TBF (temporary block flow) can be required to monitorall downlink timeslots in the MS's assignment in case the network sendsthe MS data in any of the allocated downlink timeslots. Similarly, if anMS has an assigned uplink TBF, the MS may be required to monitor alltimeslots on which the USF (uplink state flag) could be sent todynamically allocate uplink resources. If an MS has both uplink anddownlink TBFs, therefore, the MS must monitor as many relevant downlinktimeslots as possible, taking into account any allocated uplinktransmissions opportunities.

In the case that either the network or the MS has no data to send, andparticularly when neither the network nor the MS has data to transmit,this monitoring activity results in significant wasted battery power inthe MS. To minimize battery power consumption, the assigned resources(e.g., TBF) may be maintained, while the number of timeslots that the MSmust monitor is reduced. This reduction in the number of timeslots beingmonitored can be referred to as DTR.

Using DTR, an MS (for example an MS operating in packet transfer mode(i.e. with assigned packet resources)) can reduce its batteryconsumption by reducing the set of timeslots that the MS monitors fordownlink data and/or uplink allocations (as indicated by uplink stateflags (USFs)). The MS may monitor only a single timeslot or, in RTTI, asingle pair of timeslots per radio block period. As a result, thenetwork may only transmit new data or USFs on timeslots that areactually monitored by the MS. Generally, for an MS in DTR, thetransmission or reception of any new data (generally not retransmissionsof previously transmitted data) causes the MS to leave DTR mode.

In various network configurations, there can be two particularmechanisms by which a network can cause an MS to enter DTR mode: option1—by transmitting a PACKET UPLINK ACK/NACK (PUAN) control messagecontaining DTR information to the MS, or option 2—by means of DTRinformation included within a Radio Link Control (RLC) data blocktransmitted to the MS.

In option 1, when a PUAN is used to instruct the MS to enter DTR, one ofthe conditions that should be met before the MS enters DTR is that nodata block has been transmitted or received in the previous(max(BS_CV_MAX, 1)−1) block periods. Here, BS_CV_MAX may be a valueindicative of the round trip time for data packets (e.g., packets senton a Physical Downlink Channel (PDCH) or Packet Associated ControlChannel (PACCH)) between the network (or that part of the network thatprocesses data packets) and the MS. The value is made available by thenetwork for use by connected MSs and may be broadcast in systeminformation (SI), for example. A typical value of BS_CV_MAX is 6,corresponding to 6 radio block periods, or approximately 120 ms, forexample.

BS_CV_MAX is a useful value as the MS can use the round trip time todetermine whether Negative Acknowledgement (NACK) messages received fromthe network can safely be ignored. If, for example, a NACK that refersto a block that was very recently transmitted to the network by the MSis received from the network, the MS can use BS_CV_MAX to determinewhether the NACK refers to the most recently transmitted block, or to aduplicate of the block that was transmitted earlier (such as when an MSretransmits a block to the network). If the most recent transmission ofthe block took place less than one round-trip time (i.e., BS_CV_MAXradio block periods) prior to reception of the NACK, then the NACKcannot refer to the most recently transmitted block because the networkmust have transmitted the NACK prior to receiving the most recent block(the NACK cannot be received in less time than BS_CV_MAX). Therefore,the NACK does not refer to the block that was most recently transmittedby the MS and the MS may choose to ignore the NACK because the networkcould have safely received the most recent transmission, which wouldmake the NACK moot.

Generally, in the first option for causing the MS to enter DTR, thecondition that no data block has been transmitted or received in theprevious (max(BS_CV_MAX, 1)−1) block periods must be met at the timewhen the PUAN is received; if not, the DTR Information in the PUAN isignored and the MS will not enter DTR.

In the second option, when using DTR information included within an RLCdata block to cause the MS to enter DTR, the conditions for the MSentering DTR are 1) that any received poll has been responded to, 2)that V(R)=V(Q), and 3) that the block with sequence number V(R)−1contain DTR information.

In this option, the parameters V(R), V(Q), V(N) relate to the RLCreceive window in the MS that is associated with RLC data blocks. V(N)refers to an array of elements, each of which can take the value INVALIDor RECEIVED. V(R) identifies the block sequence number (BSN) of the nextexpected block (i.e. one more than the highest BSN that has been seenor, in some cases, one higher than the highest BSN whose correspondingdata block has been received correctly). V(Q) refers to the lowest BSNidentifying a block that has not yet been received correctly. As such,when V(R)=V(Q), the next expected block is also the only one that hasnot yet been received correctly, meaning that all blocks with lower BSNshave been received correctly. As an example, in a particular blocksequence, if an MS has received blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, and 12 of thesequence correctly, V(R)=13 (the next higher BSN after 12), and V(Q)=6(the lowest BSN of a block that was not received correctly).Alternatively, if an MS has received blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 correctly,but block 6 was received with errors, V(R)=7 and V(Q)=6. Finally, if anMS has received blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 correctly, then V(R)=V(Q)=7(i.e., all blocks 1-6 have been received correctly).

When using DTR information included within a RLC data block to cause theMS to enter DTR, it may not be necessary that all three conditions besatisfied in any particular order. For example, an MS may first receiveblocks 1, 2, 3, and 4, then receive block 7 containing DTR information,and then later receive blocks 5, and 6 (e.g. in response to a requestfor retransmission). At that end of that sequence, even though allblocks were not received in order and all conditions were not satisfiedin order, the MS will enter DTR because V(Q)=V(R)=8, and the block withBSN=V(R)−1 (i.e. 7) contained DTR information (presuming the MS hasresponded to any pending polls).

Note that if the network should subsequently receive an acknowledgementof all blocks up to and including block 7 from the MS, the network candetermine that the MS has entered DTR. To trigger such anacknowledgement, the network may poll the MS—polls are indicated bysettings of bits (such as in the relative reserved block period(RRBP)/combined EGPRS supplementary polling (CESP) fields) in the headerof radio blocks.

When using DTR information included within a RLC data block to cause theMS to enter DTR, Table 1 illustrates an example EGPRS downlink RLC datablock for instructing an MS to enter DTR.

TABLE 1 Bit 2 1 FBI E Bit 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Length indicator E Octet 1(note) (optional) . . . . . . Length indicator E Octet M (optional) RLCdata Octet M + 1 . . . Octet K − 1 spare DTR Blks CI TN/PDCH-pair OctetK (optional) . . . Octet N2 − 1 Octet N2

Referring to Table 1, the carrier ID (CI) field contains aidentification of the carrier that may be encoded as DTR_CI IE. The CIfield can be used to indicate the carrier that the MS monitors when DTRis used. In that case, the timeslot or PDCH-pair to monitor on thatcarrier can be indicated with the TN/PDCH-pair field. The TN/PDCH-pairfield may contain the timeslot number (BTTI configuration) or thePDCH-pair number (RTTI configuration) the MS monitors on the indicatedcarrier (CI field) when DTR is implemented. Finally, the DTR Blks fieldmay indicate a subset of downlink radio blocks during which the MSmonitors for USFs and/or downlink RLC data blocks when in DTR mode. Insome cases, when causing an MS to enter DTR, in both options 1 and 2described above, there may be a maximum reaction period permittedbetween the conditions for an MS to enter DTR being satisfied and the MSactually entering DTR.

When ordering an MS into DTR, however, there is some inefficiencyregarding MS entry to DTR when one or more uplink blocks are missing orhave not been received correctly by the network. If there are pendingretransmissions of uplink blocks (i.e., from the MS to the network), inexisting network implementations the MS may be unable to enter DTRbefore sending the uplink blocks, and after transmitting the uplinkblocks may be delayed in entering DTR. Furthermore, when an MS is in DTRor in a pending DTR state and the MS has new data to transmit to thenetwork, there is some inefficiency when the MS also has to retransmitpreviously transmitted uplink blocks to the network. The retransmissionof the previously-transmitted uplink blocks will both delay thetransmission of new uplink blocks as well as delay the MS exiting DTR orthe pending DTR state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of this disclosure, reference is nowmade to the following brief description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like referencenumerals represent like parts.

FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram showing retransmission of uplink blocksafter an MS has entered DTR.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing retransmission of uplink blocks,where the MS delays entry into DTR until the retransmission of uplinkblocks is complete.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an MS entering DTR afterretransmitting NACKED uplink blocks.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an MS prioritizing new data transmissionsover the retransmission of NACKED blocks to maximize a number ofavailable resources for uplink transmission.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a wireless communications system including an MSoperable for some of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an MS operable for some of the variousembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a software environment that may be implemented ona UE operable for some of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative general purpose computer system suitable forsome of the various embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates generally to data transmission protocolsin mobile communication systems and, more specifically, to a system andmethod for uplink data transfer in dynamic timeslot reduction (DTR).

One embodiment includes a method for communicating with a network. Themethod includes receiving an assignment of first timeslots for uplinkcommunications, and receiving an instruction to reduce monitoring to aset of timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots lessthan a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with theassignment. The method includes receiving a negative acknowledgement ofone or more radio blocks previously transmitted to the network,retransmitting at least one of the one or more radio blocks, and, afterretransmitting the at least one of the one or more radio blocks andbefore receiving a second instruction to reduce monitoring, reducingmonitoring to the set of timeslots.

Another embodiment includes a method for communicating with a mobilestation. The method includes transmitting an assignment of firsttimeslots for uplink communications, and transmitting an instruction toreduce monitoring to a set of timeslots. The set of timeslots has anumber of timeslots less than a number of timeslots to be monitored inaccordance with the assignment. The method includes transmitting anegative acknowledgement of one or more radio blocks previously receivedfrom the mobile station, receiving a retransmission of at least one ofthe one or more radio blocks, and, after receiving a retransmission ofthe at least one of the one or more radio blocks and before transmittinga second instruction to the mobile station to reduce monitoring to a setof timeslots, determining that the mobile station has reduced a set oftimeslots being monitored by the mobile station to the set of timeslots.

Another embodiment includes a method for communicating with a mobilestation. The method includes transmitting an instruction to the mobilestation to monitor a subset of a first assignment of timeslots foruplink communications, transmitting a negative acknowledgement of anumber of radio blocks previously transmitted by the mobile station, andtransmitting an allocation of resources on a number of timeslots. Theallocation of resources on one or more timeslots allocates resources onat least one timeslot that is not within the subset of the firstassignment of timeslots.

Another embodiment includes a mobile station including a processorconfigured to receive an assignment of first timeslots for uplinkcommunications, and receive an instruction to reduce monitoring to a setof timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots less than anumber of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with the assignment.The processor is configured to receive a negative acknowledgement of oneor more radio blocks previously transmitted to a network, retransmit atleast one of the one or more radio blocks, and, after retransmitting theat least one of the one or more radio blocks and before receiving asecond instruction to reduce monitoring, reduce monitoring to the set oftimeslots.

Another embodiment includes a network component comprising a processorconfigured to transmit an assignment of first timeslots for uplinkcommunications, and transmit an instruction to reduce monitoring to aset of timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots lessthan a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with theassignment. The processor is configured to transmit a negativeacknowledgement of one or more radio blocks previously received from amobile station, receive a retransmission of at least one of the one ormore radio blocks, and, after receiving a retransmission of the at leastone of the one or more radio blocks and before transmitting a secondinstruction to the mobile station to reduce monitoring to a set oftimeslots, determine that the mobile station has reduced a set oftimeslots being monitored by the mobile station to the set of timeslots.

Another embodiment includes a method for communicating with a network.The method includes receiving an assignment of first timeslots foruplink communications, and receiving an instruction to reduce monitoringto a set of timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslotsless than a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with theassignment. The method includes receiving a negative acknowledgement ofa data block previously transmitted to the network, and, after receivingthe instruction to reduce monitoring and the negative acknowledgement,transmitting a new data block to the network before retransmitting thedata block previously transmitted to the network.

Another embodiment includes a method for communicating with a mobilestation. The method includes transmitting an assignment of firsttimeslots for uplink communications, and transmitting an instruction toreduce monitoring to a set of timeslots. The set of timeslots has anumber of timeslots less than a number of timeslots to be monitored inaccordance with the assignment. The method includes transmitting anegative acknowledgement of a data block previously received from themobile station, receiving a radio block containing new data, and, afterreceiving the radio block containing new data, determining that themobile station is monitoring the number of timeslots to be monitored inaccordance with the assignment.

Another embodiment includes a method for communicating with a mobilestation. The method includes transmitting an assignment of firsttimeslots for uplink communications, and transmitting an instruction tomonitor a subset of the first assignment of timeslots for uplinkcommunications. A number of timeslots in the subset is less than anumber of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with the assignment.The method includes transmitting a negative acknowledgement of one ormore radio blocks previously received from the mobile station. When aretransmission of at least one of the one or more radio blocks isreceived from the mobile station, the method includes determining thatthe mobile station has reduced a set of timeslots being monitored by themobile station to the subset of the first assignment. When atransmission of new data is received from the mobile station, the methodincludes determining that the mobile station is monitoring each of thefirst assignment of timeslots.

Another embodiment includes a mobile station comprising a processorconfigured to receive an assignment of first timeslots for uplinkcommunications, and receive an instruction to reduce monitoring to a setof timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots less than anumber of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with the assignment.The processor is configured to receive a negative acknowledgement of adata block previously transmitted to a network, and, after receiving theinstruction to reduce monitoring and the negative acknowledgement,transmit a new data block to the network before retransmitting the datablock previously transmitted to the network.

Another embodiment includes a network component comprising a processorconfigured to transmit an assignment of first timeslots for uplinkcommunications, and transmit an instruction to reduce monitoring to aset of timeslots. The set of timeslots has a number of timeslots lessthan a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with theassignment. The processor is configured to transmit a negativeacknowledgement of a data block previously received from a mobilestation, receive a radio block containing new data, and, after receivingthe radio block containing new data, determine that the mobile stationis monitoring the number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance withthe assignment.

The various aspects of the disclosure are now described with referenceto the annexed drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like orcorresponding elements throughout. It should be understood, however,that the drawings and detailed description relating thereto are notintended to limit the claimed subject matter to the particular formdisclosed. Rather, the intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of theclaimed subject matter.

As used herein, the terms “component,” “system,” and the like areintended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a computer and the computercan be a component. One or more components may reside within a processand/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on onecomputer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs.

Furthermore, the disclosed subject matter may be implemented as asystem, method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standardprogramming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware,hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer or processorbased device to implement aspects detailed herein. The term “article ofmanufacture” (or alternatively, “computer program product”) as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, channel, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (for example, hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips, and thelike), optical disks (for example, compact disk (CD), digital versatiledisk (DVD), and the like), smart cards, and flash memory devices (forexample, card, stick, and the like). Additionally, it should beappreciated that a carrier wave can be employed to carrycomputer-readable electronic data such as those used in transmitting andreceiving electronic mail or in accessing a network such as the Internetor a local area network (LAN). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications may be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter.

When an MS is ordered to enter DTR (i.e., to reducing monitoring to asubset of assigned timeslots), if there are pending uplinkretransmissions, it is preferable that the MS be able to both transmitthe pending uplink blocks efficiently and also enter DTR quickly.However, depending upon the process with which the MS enters DTR, theretransmission of the uplink blocks may be delayed, or the MS may bedelayed in entering DTR.

If an MS enters DTR while there are still pending uplinkretransmissions, for example, the limited number of timeslots availablein DTR may delay those retransmissions—generally in DTR there is only asingle (or, in some RTTI scenarios, two) USF per radio block periodlimiting the MS to transmit a single uplink block per radio blockperiod. Note that the number of uplink resources available when an MS isin DTR is not necessarily reflected by the number of USFs transmitted toan MS, instead it is reflected by the number of resources (i.e.,allocated radio blocks) allocated by those USFs. Because, in DTR, theresources for uplink transmissions are so limited, it may take some timebefore the MS can complete all uplink retransmissions. For example, FIG.1 is a sequence diagram showing retransmission of uplink blocks after anMS has entered DTR.

Referring to FIG. 1, MS 10 transmits uplink blocks 4, 5, 6, and 7 tonetwork 12. In the sequence diagrams of the present disclosure, theradio block transmissions are shown as arrows passing between MS 10 andnetwork 12 and time passes from left to right. Network 12 may includeany appropriate network component, such as a component of a wirelesscommunications network configured to communicate with an MS. As such,moving from left to right in each diagram, the arrows representsequential communications of radio blocks between MS 10 and network 12.Also, blocks having a BSN of N are referred to as block N.

As shown in FIG. 1, network 12 fails to successfully receive blocks 5,6, and 7. Accordingly, after failing to receive blocks 5, 6, and 7,network 12 transmits packet uplink ACK/NACK (PUAN) 400 to MS 10. PUAN400 includes a NACK for each of blocks 5, 6, and 7 and thereby informsMS 10 that MS 10 must retransmit blocks 5, 6, and 7 to network 12.

In this example, after receiving PUAN 400, MS 10 is configured to enterDTR. PUAN 400 may have instructed MS 10 to enter DTR, or network 12 mayhave used any other appropriate mechanism for causing MS 10 to enterDTR. Accordingly, because MS 10 is in DTR, MS 10 only receives at most asingle USF per radio block allocating uplink radio block(s) that MS 10may use for retransmitting each of blocks 5, 6, and 7. Accordingly, withreference to FIG. 1, after receiving USF 402, MS 10 retransmits block 5as block 5′ to network 12. After receiving USF 404, MS 10 retransmitsblock 6 as block 6′ to network 12. And after receive USF 406, MS 10retransmits block 7 as block 7′ to network 12.

Accordingly, in this example, although the MS 10 was able to enter DTRquickly, it required three radio block periods (in DTR only a single USFmay be received per radio block period, and in this example, each USFallocates only a single uplink radio block) before MS 10 was able toretransmit each of blocks 5, 6, and 7. As such, the retransmission ofthose blocks requires an extended number of radio block periods causingdelay in the uplink retransmissions.

Also, if the MS should be in DTR when the MS has both outstanding NACKEDuplink blocks (e.g. because the PUAN ordering the MS into DTR alsoindicated NACKs for one or more transmitted uplink data blocks) and newdata (e.g., a new data block that has not been previously transmitted)to transmit to the network, the MS may be stuck in DTR while the MSretransmits the NACKED blocks. This is because the MS may be required toprioritize transmissions of NACKED blocks over blocks containing newdata. In other words, the MS is required to send the NACKED blocksbefore new data blocks. Because the retransmission of NACKED blocks doesnot cause the MS to leave DTR (unlike the transmission of new data whichcause the MS to leave DTR and may prompt the network to allocateadditional uplink resources), there may be delay in the MS bothretransmitting the NACKED blocks and, eventually, transmitting the newdata. With these prioritization rules, therefore, an MS that is in DTRbut has both NACKED data and new data to send cannot send the new data(and hence leave DTR and signal this to the network) until the MS hastransmitted all NACKED data.

Sometimes, to avoid the delay associated with receiving uplinkretransmission from an MS 10 in DTR, the network will avoid ordering theMS into DTR until the network has successfully received all uplinkblocks from the MS. In that implementation, after notifying the MS thatthe MS must retransmit certain uplink blocks, the network then waits forthe retransmissions, and, after receiving the retransmissions sends asubsequent PUAN acknowledging receipt of the uplink transmissions andordering the MS into DTR. The MS then is able to enter DTR. This processwill delay entry to DTR (and unnecessarily result in batteryconsumption), particularly if it takes multiple retransmissions for ablock to be received correctly.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing retransmission of uplink blocks,where the MS entry into DTR is delayed until the retransmission ofuplink blocks is complete and the MS has received acknowledgement oftheir correct reception by the network. As shown in FIG. 2, MS 10transmits uplink blocks 4, 5, 6, and 7 to network 12. Network 12,however, fails to successfully receive blocks 5, 6, and 7. Accordingly,after failing to receive blocks 5, 6, and 7, network 12 transmits packetuplink ACK/NACK (PUAN) 420 to MS 10. PUAN 420 includes a NACK for blocks5, 6, and 7 and thereby informs MS 10 that MS 10 must retransmit blocks5, 6, and 7 to network 12.

At this time, MS 10 does not enter DTR and instead performsretransmissions of the NACKED blocks. In a following radio block period,network 12 transmits USFs 422, 424, and 426 to MS 10 informing MS 10that it has three uplink allocations in a following radio block period.After receiving USFs 422, 424, and 426, MS 10 retransmits blocks 5, 6,and 7 as blocks 5′, 6′, and 7′.

If network 12 successfully receives blocks 5′, 6′, and 7′, network 12transmits PUAN 428 to MS 10 informing MS 10 that the uplink blocks weresuccessfully received and that MS 10 should enter DTR. After receivingPUAN 428, MS 10 may then enter DTR. Accordingly, even though blocks 5′,6′, and 7′ were transmitted in a single radio block period, there issome delay and communications between the network and MS before MS 10 isable to enter DTR.

It should be noted that in the present embodiment, once NACKED blockshave been retransmitted (e.g., blocks 5′, 6′ and 7′ of FIG. 2) andbecome PENDING_ACK (i.e. where the blocks have been transmitted recentlyand no acknowledgement—positive or negative—has been received from thenetwork, taking into account the most recent transmission), whether theblocks are required to be further pre-emptively retransmitted (i.e.retransmitted before a PUAN is received which indicates whether or notthe network received the most recent transmission(s) correctly) by theMS may depend on whether a pre-emptive retransmission bit is set in thePUAN message.

Accordingly, in the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, there aretradeoffs. Either the MS enters DTR quickly, with a delay in anynecessary uplink retransmissions, or the MS quick performs uplinkretransmission with a delay in the MS being able to enter DTR.

In this embodiment, therefore, the MS does not enter DTR immediatelyupon receipt from the network of instructions to enter DTR (e.g., via aPUAN containing DTR information or DTR information included within aRadio Link Control (RLC) data block transmitted to the MS). Instead, theMS is configured to monitor all timeslots (or at least, those on whichUSFs may be received) until the MS has received sufficient USFs toretransmit any NACKED blocks (taking into account reaction times allowedfor processing the PUAN i.e. USFs sent immediately after the PUAN maynot count if the MS could not be expected to respond to the PUAN usingthe allocated resources), and then enters DTR. This allows the MS toboth retransmit any NACKED uplink blocks and quickly enter DTR afterretransmitting those blocks without waiting for a further specificinstruction to enter DTR from the network. In one embodiment, therelevant set of NACKED blocks may include all blocks which have statusNACKED after reception of the ACK/NACK information which was sent in thesame radio block as the indication to enter DTR. Note, the ACK/NACKinformation may be included in a PUAN or via other ACK/NACK indications(e.g., a via piggy-backed ACK/NACK field, which incidentally, may notcontain DTR information). In another embodiment, the relevant set ofNACKED blocks includes only those blocks which were set to NACKED (orwhose NACKED status was explicitly confirmed) as a result of theACK/NACK information which was sent in the same radio block as theindication to enter DTR. In some embodiments, ACK/NACK information canbe received in piggy-backed ACK/NACK bitmaps, for example.

In these embodiments, from the network's perspective, because thenetwork knows both how many uplink blocks were NACKED and how many USFsthe network has sent to the MS since sending the message that instructedthe MS to enter DTR blocks, the network can determine when the MS hasreceived allocation of sufficient resources to retransmit the NACKEDblocks and entered DTR. Furthermore, because the USFs are very robustlyencoded, the network can assume with high reliability exactly when theMS enters DTR, without incurring any delay, such as would be incurred ifthe network were to rely on a message transmitted by the MS once it hadentered (or was ready to enter) DTR.

As an example of this embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showingan MS entering DTR after retransmitting NACKED uplink blocks. As shownin FIG. 3, MS 10 transmits uplink blocks 4, 5, 6, and 7 to network 12.Network 12, however, fails to successfully receive blocks 5, 6, and 7.Accordingly, after failing to receive blocks 5, 6, and 7, network 12transmits PUAN 440 to MS 10. PUAN 440 includes a NACK for blocks 5, 6,and 7 and thereby informs MS 10 that MS 10 must retransmits blocks 5, 6,and 7 to network 12. Note that two separate PUANs may be used insteadwhere the first PUAN contains DTR Information, and the second PUANidentifies NACKED uplink blocks. PUAN 440 also instructs MS 10 to enterDTR. In this example, although PUAN 440 is used to inform MS 10 that itshould enter DTR, any other appropriate mechanism may be used to causeMS 10 to enter DTR (e.g., such as by means of DTR information includedwithin a Radio Link Control (RLC) data block transmitted to the MS).

At this time, because MS 10 has pending uplink block retransmissions, MS10 does not enter DTR and instead waits to retransmit blocks 5, 6, and 7to network 12. At this time, MS 10 is in what may be referred to as a“pending” DTR state. In this state, MS 10 listens for USFs on allavailable timeslots, rather than on the reduced set that would belistened to if the MS were in DTR. In a following radio block period,network 12 transmits USFs 442, 444, and 446 to MS 10 informing MS 10that it has three uplink allocations in a following radio block period(because network 12 transmitted PUAN 440 that included several NACKs,network 12 knows that MS 10 is in a pending DTR state and is listeningfor allocation of resources on all timeslots). After receiving USFs 442,444, and 446, MS 10 retransmits blocks 5, 6, and 7 as blocks 5′, 6′, and7′ using the allocated resources. Accordingly, MS 10 is able toretransmit blocks 5, 6, and 7 in a single radio block period (contrastwith the example sequence shown in FIG. 1 where MS 10 had to wait forseveral block periods before all required retransmissions werecompleted).

Note that in accordance with the present disclosure, an MS that receivesNACKs for one or more uplink blocks while in DTR may leave DTR to enterthe pending DTR state. At that time, the MS can make use of theadditional uplink resources allocated by the network to retransmit theNACKED blocks and can then quickly enter DTR after retransmitting theblocks (i.e., before receiving an instruction to enter DTR from thenetwork).

After transmitting blocks 5′, 6′, and 7′, rather than wait foradditional instructions from network 12 to enter DTR, MS 10 autonomouslyenters DTR at time 448. After successfully receiving retransmittedblocks 5′, 6′ and 7′, network 12 may optionally transmit PUAN 450 to MS10. PUAN 450 may include DTR Information (as shown in FIG. 3) asconfirmation to MS 10 to enter DTR. Upon receipt of PUAN 450, however,in this example MS 10 has already entered DTR.

In this embodiment, because the network knows both how many uplinkblocks were NACKED in PUAN 440 and how many USFs the network has sentsince sending the PUAN, the network can determine when the MS hasentered DTR. With reference to FIG. 3, upon transmitting PUAN 440,network 12 knows that MS 10 has three uplink blocks to retransmit.Accordingly, network 12 can determine that after transmitting the thirdUSF 446, MS 10 will retransmit the three NACKED blocks and, followingtransmission of the third NACKED block, enter DTR (e.g., at time 448 onFIG. 3). It should be noted, however, that there is no adverse behaviorif the network were to transmit another instruction to the MS to enterDTR even after the MS had actually entered DTR (see PUAN 450 on FIG. 3,for example).

In this embodiment, it should be noted that because the modulation andcoding scheme (MCS) used for all uplink transmissions are explicitlycommanded by the network (or are specified in terms of such explicitcommands), both the network and MS know how many uplink radio blocks(and therefore how many USFs) are required to retransmit the outstandingNACKED blocks. In embodiments described above, one USF is assumed toallocate a single uplink radio block; however, in some embodiments (suchas when Extended Dynamic Allocation is used) a single USF may indicatean allocation of multiple uplink radio blocks; in these embodiments, itis the number of allocated uplink radio blocks that is counted, ratherthan the number of USFs, for determining whether an MS has beenallocated a sufficient number of resources to permit retransmission ofdata blocks and therefore whether an MS has entered into DTR.

If pre-emptive retransmission is not required, then the MS is notrequired to respond to any USFs while it has only PENDING_ACK blocks andno NACKED blocks, or new data, to send. Also, the indication of NACKEDblocks may take into account only those indicated in the PUAN or maytake account of those previously received PUANs. If the MS is configuredto perform preemptive retransmission, however, the MS may use anyallocated uplink resources to retransmit (without having received a NACKfrom the network) any combination of previously transmitted blocks in anattempt to prevent the network from having to transmit a PUAN with NACKinformation should any of the blocks not be received successfully.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, upon reception of a PACKET UPLINKACK/NACK message containing valid DTR information, an MS that is notalready in DTR and has neither transmitted nor received any RLC datablock during the (max(BS_CV_MAX, 1)−1) block periods before the radioblock period in which the PACKET UPLINK ACK/NACK message was receivedmay be configured to, if one or more elements of V(B) (where V(B) is anarray of elements corresponding to transmitted data blocks) are set toNACKED after (or, in some embodiments, as a direct result of) processingthe PACKET UPLINK ACK/NACK message, monitor all assigned timeslots onwhich USFs may be received in accordance with the uplink assignment.When no elements of V(B) have status NACKED, the MS may begin monitoringonly the indicated PDCH or PDCH-pair (and if applicable, carrier) withinthe reaction time (as specified in 3GPP TS 45.010. Otherwise (e.g. if noelements of V(B) have status NACKED), the MS may start monitoring onlythe indicated PDCH or PDCH-pair (and if applicable, carrier) within thereaction time specified in 3GPP TS 45.010 and enter DTR.

Accordingly, an MS in DTR (or, which will enter DTR after retransmissionof NACKED data blocks and which may be described as in “pending DTR”state) which receives a PACKET UPLINK ACK/NACK message containing DTRinformation can assume the DTR information is unchanged independent ofthe contents of the DTR information. If the PACKET UPLINK ACK/NACKmessage caused one or more elements of V(B) to be set to NACKED, the MScan monitor all assigned timeslots on which USFs may be received inaccordance with the uplink assignment, until no elements of V(B) havestatus NACKED, then re-enter DTR.

In some embodiments, the entry to the “pending DTR” state describedabove is only possible from non-DTR mode. In other embodiments, the MSmay enter “pending DTR” state (i.e. monitoring more timeslots than arerequired to be monitored in DTR mode pending retransmission of NACKEDdata) in response to ACK/NACK information received when the MS isalready in DTR mode. In some embodiments, the MS may extend the durationof an ongoing pending DTR state in response to ACK/NACK informationreceived while in pending DTR state.

In another embodiment, while the MS is either in DTR or in the pendingDTR state described above, the MS and/or network is configured toprioritize the transmission of new data blocks over NACKED data in orderto return the MS to non-DTR mode (or avoid entering DTR) andavoid/minimize any reduction in resource allocation caused by thenetwork assuming the mobile has entered DTR. The network may reduce theuplink resource allocation, for example, after sending the last USFrequired to allow the retransmission of NACKED blocks as shown in FIG.3. In that case, it could require at least one round-trip time for thenetwork to transmit a subsequent USF and receive the new data on theallocated radio block, and realize that the MS is not in DTR.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an MS prioritizing new data transmissionsover the retransmission of NACKED blocks to maximize a number ofavailable resources for uplink transmission. As shown in FIG. 4, MS 10transmits uplink blocks 4, 5, 6, and 7 to network 12. Network 12,however, fails to successfully receive blocks 5, 6, and 7. Accordingly,after failing to receive blocks 5, 6, and 7, network 12 transmits packetuplink ACK/NACK (PUAN) 460 to MS 10. PUAN 460 includes a NACK for blocks5, 6, and 7 and thereby informs MS 10 that MS 10 must retransmits blocks5, 6, and 7 to network 12. Note that two separate PUAN may be used wherethe first PUAN contains DTR Information, and the second PUAN identifiesNACKED uplink blocks. PUAN 460 also instructs MS 10 to enter DTR. Inthis example, although PUAN 460 is used to inform MS 10 that it shouldenter DTR, any other appropriate mechanism may be used to cause MS 10 toenter DTR (e.g., such as by means of DTR information included within aRadio Link Control (RLC) data block transmitted to the MS).

At this time, MS 10 does not enter DTR and instead waits to retransmitblocks 5, 6, and 7 to network 12. At this time, MS 10 is in what may bereferred to as a “pending” DTR state. Accordingly, MS 10 listens forUSFs on all available timeslots, rather than the reduced set that wouldbe listened to if the MS were in DTR. In a following radio block period,network 12 transmits USFs 462, 464, and 466 to MS 10 informing MS 10that it has three uplink allocations in a following radio block period.

At this time, however, MS 10 has new data (data block 9) to send tonetwork 12. Accordingly, MS 10 does not want to use the three allocatedUSFs (USFs 462, 464, and 466) for retransmitting blocks 5, 6, and 7,only to then have the network believe the MS has entered DTR (inaccordance with the sequence shown in FIG. 3) and, accordingly, allocatefewer resources for uplink communications.

Accordingly, rather than retransmit blocks 5, 6, and 7 using theallocated uplink resources, MS 10 prioritizes at least a portion of thenew data to be transmitted before the NACKED blocks. Accordingly, afterreceiving the three USFs, MS 10 transmits block 9 and retransmits block5 as block 5′, and block 6 as block 6′.

After receiving the new block 9, network 12 knows that MS 10 hastransmitted new data and, therefore, did not enter DTR immediatelyfollowing the retransmittal of blocks 5, 6, and 7. Network 12 can,therefore, allocate additional resources to MS 10 to allow for efficientcommunication of uplink blocks. At that time, the network may treat MS10 as if it has left DTR.

Note that in accordance with the present embodiment, the network may beconfigured to also prioritize transmission of new data to the MS (wherethe MS may or may not be similarly configured to prioritize new data asdescribed above). If, for example, the MS is in DTR, and the network hasboth NACKED downlink blocks to retransmit to the MS as well as new data,the network may prioritize the new data over the NACKED blocks. Thiswould cause the MS to exit DTR allowing the network to use additionalresources when transmitting the new data to the MS. After the new datais transmitted to the MS, the network can retransmit any NACKED blocks.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, when the MS is in DTR, and has new datato transmit (i.e. the block with BSN=V(S) is available) the MS mayprioritize the transmission of the RLC data block with BSN=V(S) over RLCdata blocks whose corresponding element has value NACKED. In some cases,this occurs no more than once per DTR mode period.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a wireless communications system including anembodiment of an exemplary MS 10 is illustrated. The MS is operable forimplementing aspects of the disclosure, but the disclosure should not belimited to these embodiments. Though illustrated as a mobile phone, theMS may take various forms including a wireless handset, a pager, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, smart phones, printers, fax machines,televisions, set top boxes, and other video display devices, home audioequipment and other home entertainment systems, home monitoring andcontrol systems (e.g., home monitoring, alarm systems and climatecontrol systems), and enhanced home appliances such as computerizedrefrigerators. Many suitable devices combine some or all of thesefunctions. In some embodiments of the disclosure, the MS 10 is not ageneral purpose computing device like a portable, laptop or tabletcomputer, but rather is a special-purpose communications device such asa mobile phone, a wireless handset, a pager, a PDA, or atelecommunications device installed in a vehicle. The MS 10 may also bea device, include a device, or be included in a device that has similarcapabilities but that is not transportable, such as a desktop computer,a set-top box, or a network node. The MS 10 may support specializedactivities such as gaming, inventory control, job control, and/or taskmanagement functions, and so on.

The MS 10 includes a display 702. The MS 10 also includes atouch-sensitive surface, a keyboard or other input keys generallyreferred as 704 for input by a user. The keyboard may be a full orreduced alphanumeric keyboard such as QWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY, andsequential types, or a traditional numeric keypad with alphabet lettersassociated with a telephone keypad. The input keys may include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, a trackball, and other navigational orfunctional keys, which may be inwardly depressed to provide furtherinput function. The MS 10 may present options for the user to select,controls for the user to actuate, and/or cursors or other indicators forthe user to direct.

The MS 10 may further accept data entry from the user, including numbersto dial or various parameter values for configuring the operation of theMS 10. The MS 10 may further execute one or more software or firmwareapplications in response to user commands. These applications mayconfigure the MS 10 to perform various customized functions in responseto user interaction. Additionally, the MS 10 may be programmed and/orconfigured over-the-air, for example from a wireless base station, awireless access point, or a peer MS 10.

Among the various applications executable by the MS 10 is a web browser,which enables the display 702 to show a web page. The web page may beobtained via wireless communications with a wireless network accessnode, a cell tower, a peer MS 10, or any other wireless communicationnetwork or system 700. The network 700 is coupled to a wired network708, such as the Internet. Via the wireless link and the wired network,the MS 10 has access to information on various servers, such as a server710. The server 710 may provide content that may be shown on the display702. Alternately, the MS 10 may access the network 700 through a peer MS10 acting as an intermediary, in a relay type or hop type of connection.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the MS 10. While a variety of knowncomponents of UAs 10 are depicted, in an embodiment a subset of thelisted components and/or additional components not listed may beincluded in the MS 10. The MS 10 includes a digital signal processor(DSP) 802 and a memory 804. As shown, the MS 10 may further include anantenna and front end unit 806, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 808,an analog baseband processing unit 810, a microphone 812, an earpiecespeaker 814, a headset port 816, an input/output interface 818, aremovable memory card 820, a universal serial bus (USB) port 822, ashort range wireless communication sub-system 824, an alert 826, akeypad 828, a liquid crystal display (LCD), which may include a touchsensitive surface 830, an LCD controller 832, a charge-coupled device(CCD) camera 834, a camera controller 836, and a global positioningsystem (GPS) sensor 838. In an embodiment, the MS 10 may include anotherkind of display that does not provide a touch sensitive screen. In anembodiment, the DSP 802 may communicate directly with the memory 804without passing through the input/output interface 818.

The DSP 802 or some other form of controller or central processing unitoperates to control the various components of the MS 10 in accordancewith embedded software or firmware stored in memory 804 or stored inmemory contained within the DSP 802 itself. In addition to the embeddedsoftware or firmware, the DSP 802 may execute other applications storedin the memory 804 or made available via information carrier media suchas portable data storage media like the removable memory card 820 or viawired or wireless network communications. The application software maycomprise a compiled set of machine-readable instructions that configurethe DSP 802 to provide the desired functionality, or the applicationsoftware may be high-level software instructions to be processed by aninterpreter or compiler to indirectly configure the DSP 802.

The antenna and front end unit 806 may be provided to convert betweenwireless signals and electrical signals, enabling the MS 10 to send andreceive information from a cellular network or some other availablewireless communications network or from a peer MS 10. In an embodiment,the antenna and front end unit 806 may include multiple antennas tosupport beam forming and/or multiple input multiple output (MIMO)operations. As is known to those skilled in the art, MIMO operations mayprovide spatial diversity which can be used to overcome difficultchannel conditions and/or increase channel throughput. The antenna andfront end unit 806 may include antenna tuning and/or impedance matchingcomponents, RF power amplifiers, and/or low noise amplifiers.

The RF transceiver 808 provides frequency shifting, converting receivedRF signals to baseband and converting baseband transmit signals to RF.In some descriptions a radio transceiver or RF transceiver may beunderstood to include other signal processing functionality such asmodulation/demodulation, coding/decoding, interleaving/deinterleaving,spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fourier transforming (IFFT)/fastFourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefix appending/removal, and othersignal processing functions. For the purposes of clarity, thedescription here separates the description of this signal processingfrom the RF and/or radio stage and conceptually allocates that signalprocessing to the analog baseband processing unit 810 and/or the DSP 802or other central processing unit. In some embodiments, the RFtransceiver 808, portions of the antenna and front end 806, and theanalog baseband processing unit 810 may be combined in one or moreprocessing units and/or application specific integrated circuits(ASICs).

The analog baseband processing unit 810 may provide various analogprocessing of inputs and outputs, for example analog processing ofinputs from the microphone 812 and the headset 816 and outputs to theearpiece 814 and the headset 816. To that end, the analog basebandprocessing unit 810 may have ports for connecting to the built-inmicrophone 812 and the earpiece speaker 814 that enable the MS 10 to beused as a cell phone. The analog baseband processing unit 810 mayfurther include a port for connecting to a headset or other hands-freemicrophone and speaker configuration. The analog baseband processingunit 810 may provide digital-to-analog conversion in one signaldirection and analog-to-digital conversion in the opposing signaldirection. In some embodiments, at least some of the functionality ofthe analog baseband processing unit 810 may be provided by digitalprocessing components, for example by the DSP 802 or by other centralprocessing units.

The DSP 802 may perform modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding,interleaving/deinterleaving, spreading/despreading, inverse fast Fouriertransforming (IFFT)/fast Fourier transforming (FFT), cyclic prefixappending/removal, and other signal processing functions associated withwireless communications. In an embodiment, for example in a codedivision multiple access (CDMA) technology application, for atransmitter function the DSP 802 may perform modulation, coding,interleaving, and spreading, and for a receiver function the DSP 802 mayperform despreading, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inanother embodiment, for example in an orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplex access (OFDMA) technology application, for the transmitterfunction the DSP 802 may perform modulation, coding, interleaving,inverse fast Fourier transforming, and cyclic prefix appending, and fora receiver function the DSP 802 may perform cyclic prefix removal, fastFourier transforming, deinterleaving, decoding, and demodulation. Inother wireless technology applications, yet other signal processingfunctions and combinations of signal processing functions may beperformed by the DSP 802.

The DSP 802 may communicate with a wireless network via the analogbaseband processing unit 810. In some embodiments, the communication mayprovide Internet connectivity, enabling a user to gain access to contenton the Internet and to send and receive e-mail or text messages. Theinput/output interface 818 interconnects the DSP 802 and variousmemories and interfaces. The memory 804 and the removable memory card820 may provide software and data to configure the operation of the DSP802. Among the interfaces may be the USB interface 822 and the shortrange wireless communication sub-system 824. The USB interface 822 maybe used to charge the MS 10 and may also enable the MS 10 to function asa peripheral device to exchange information with a personal computer orother computer system. The short range wireless communication sub-system824 may include an infrared port, a Bluetooth interface, an IEEE 802.11compliant wireless interface, or any other short range wirelesscommunication sub-system, which may enable the MS 10 to communicatewirelessly with other nearby mobile devices and/or wireless basestations.

The input/output interface 818 may further connect the DSP 802 to thealert 826 that, when triggered, causes the MS 10 to provide a notice tothe user, for example, by ringing, playing a melody, or vibrating. Thealert 826 may serve as a mechanism for alerting the user to any ofvarious events such as an incoming call, a new text message, and anappointment reminder by silently vibrating, or by playing a specificpre-assigned melody for a particular caller.

The keypad 828 couples to the DSP 802 via the interface 818 to provideone mechanism for the user to make selections, enter information, andotherwise provide input to the MS 10. The keyboard 828 may be a full orreduced alphanumeric keyboard such as QWERTY, Dvorak, AZERTY andsequential types, or a traditional numeric keypad with alphabet lettersassociated with a telephone keypad. The input keys may include a trackwheel, an exit or escape key, a trackball, and other navigational orfunctional keys, which may be inwardly depressed to provide furtherinput function. Another input mechanism may be the LCD 830, which mayinclude touch screen capability and also display text and/or graphics tothe user. The LCD controller 832 couples the DSP 802 to the LCD 830.

The CCD camera 834, if equipped, enables the MS 10 to take digitalpictures. The DSP 802 communicates with the CCD camera 834 via thecamera controller 836. In another embodiment, a camera operatingaccording to a technology other than Charge Coupled Device cameras maybe employed. The GPS sensor 838 is coupled to the DSP 802 to decodeglobal positioning system signals, thereby enabling the MS 10 todetermine its position. Various other peripherals may also be includedto provide additional functions, e.g., radio and television reception.

FIG. 7 illustrates a software environment 902 that may be implemented bythe DSP 802. The DSP 802 executes operating system drivers 904 thatprovide a platform from which the rest of the software operates. Theoperating system drivers 904 provide drivers for the UA hardware withstandardized interfaces that are accessible to application software. Theoperating system drivers 904 include application management services(“AMS”) 906 that transfer control between applications running on the MS10. Also shown in the figure are a web browser application 908, a mediaplayer application 910, and Java applets 912. The web browserapplication 908 configures the MS 10 to operate as a web browser,allowing a user to enter information into forms and select links toretrieve and view web pages. The media player application 910 configuresthe MS 10 to retrieve and play audio or audiovisual media. The Javaapplets 912 configure the MS 10 to provide games, utilities, and otherfunctionality. A component 914 might provide functionality describedherein.

The MS 10, access device 120, and other components described above mightinclude a processing component that is capable of executing instructionsrelated to the actions described above. FIG. 8 illustrates an example ofa system 1000 that includes a processing component 1010 suitable forimplementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. In addition tothe processor 1010 (which may be referred to as a central processor unit(CPU or DSP), the system 1000 might include network connectivity devices1020, random access memory (RAM) 1030, read only memory (ROM) 1040,secondary storage 1050, and input/output (I/O) devices 1060. In someembodiments, a program for implementing the determination of a minimumnumber of HARQ process IDs may be stored in ROM 1040. In some cases,some of these components may not be present or may be combined invarious combinations with one another or with other components notshown. These components might be located in a single physical entity orin more than one physical entity. Any actions described herein as beingtaken by the processor 1010 might be taken by the processor 1010 aloneor by the processor 1010 in conjunction with one or more componentsshown or not shown in the drawing.

The processor 1010 executes instructions, codes, computer programs, orscripts that it might access from the network connectivity devices 1020,RAM 1030, ROM 1040, or secondary storage 1050 (which might includevarious disk-based systems such as hard disk, floppy disk, or opticaldisk). While only one processor 1010 is shown, multiple processors maybe present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as being executedby a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously,serially, or otherwise by one or multiple processors. The processor 1010may be implemented as one or more CPU chips.

The network connectivity devices 1020 may take the form of modems, modembanks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus (USB) interface devices,serial interfaces, token ring devices, fiber distributed data interface(FDDI) devices, wireless local area network (WLAN) devices, radiotransceiver devices such as code division multiple access (CDMA)devices, global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiverdevices, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX)devices, and/or other well-known devices for connecting to networks.These network connectivity devices 1020 may enable the processor 1010 tocommunicate with the Internet or one or more telecommunications networksor other networks from which the processor 1010 might receiveinformation or to which the processor 1010 might output information.

The network connectivity devices 1020 might also include one or moretransceiver components 1025 capable of transmitting and/or receivingdata wirelessly in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as radiofrequency signals or microwave frequency signals. Alternatively, thedata may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors, incoaxial cables, in waveguides, in optical media such as optical fiber,or in other media. The transceiver component 1025 might include separatereceiving and transmitting units or a single transceiver. Informationtransmitted or received by the transceiver 1025 may include data thathas been processed by the processor 1010 or instructions that are to beexecuted by processor 1010. Such information may be received from andoutputted to a network in the form, for example, of a computer databaseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave. The data may beordered according to different sequences as may be desirable for eitherprocessing or generating the data or transmitting or receiving the data.The baseband signal, the signal embedded in the carrier wave, or othertypes of signals currently used or hereafter developed may be referredto as the transmission medium and may be generated according to severalmethods well known to one skilled in the art.

The RAM 1030 might be used to store volatile data and perhaps to storeinstructions that are executed by the processor 1010. The ROM 1040 is anon-volatile memory device that typically has a smaller memory capacitythan the memory capacity of the secondary storage 1050. ROM 1040 mightbe used to store instructions and perhaps data that are read duringexecution of the instructions. Access to both RAM 1030 and ROM 1040 istypically faster than to secondary storage 1050. The secondary storage1050 is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drivesand might be used for non-volatile storage of data or as an over-flowdata storage device if RAM 1030 is not large enough to hold all workingdata. Secondary storage 1050 may be used to store programs that areloaded into RAM 1030 when such programs are selected for execution.

The I/O devices 1060 may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touchscreen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls,voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, printers, videomonitors, or other well-known input devices. Also, the transceiver 1025might be considered to be a component of the I/O devices 1060 instead ofor in addition to being a component of the network connectivity devices1020. Some or all of the I/O devices 1060 may be substantially similarto various components depicted in the previously described drawing ofthe MS 10, such as the display 702 and the input 704.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other items shown or discussed as coupled or directly coupled orcommunicating with each other may be indirectly coupled or communicatingthrough some interface, device, or intermediate component, whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise. Other examples of changes,substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in theart and could be made without departing from the spirit and scopedisclosed herein.

1. A method for communicating with a network, comprising: receiving anassignment of a set of timeslots for uplink communications; receiving aninstruction to monitor a reduced set of timeslots, the reduced set oftimeslots having a number of timeslots less than a number of timeslotsto be monitored in accordance with the assignment; receiving a negativeacknowledgement of a data block previously transmitted to the network;and after receiving the instruction to monitor the reduced set oftimeslots and the negative acknowledgement, transmitting a new datablock to the network before retransmitting the data block previouslytransmitted to the network, wherein transmitting the new data blockincludes using a resource on at least one timeslot that corresponds to atimeslot that is not within the reduced set of timeslots.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the instruction to monitor the reduced set oftimeslots and the negative acknowledgement are received in a singleradio block.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the reduced set oftimeslots is identified within a radio link control data block. 4.(canceled)
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the new data block has notpreviously been transmitted to the network. 6-11. (canceled)
 12. Amobile station, comprising: a processor, the processor being configuredto: receive an assignment of a set of timeslots for uplinkcommunications; receive an instruction to monitor a reduced set oftimeslots, the reduced set of timeslots having a number of timeslotsless than a number of timeslots to be monitored in accordance with theassignment; receive a negative acknowledgement of a data blockpreviously transmitted to a network; and after receiving the instructionto monitor the reduced set of timeslots and the negativeacknowledgement, transmit a new data block to the network beforeretransmitting the data block previously transmitted to the network,wherein the processor is configured to transmit the new data block usinga resource on at least one timeslot that corresponds to a timeslot thatis not within the reduced set of timeslots.
 13. The mobile station ofclaim 12, wherein the instruction to monitor a reduced set of timeslotsand the negative acknowledgement are received in a single radio block.14. The mobile station of claim 12, wherein the reduced set of timeslotsis identified within a radio link control data block.
 15. (canceled) 16.The mobile station of claim 12, wherein the new data block has notpreviously been transmitted to the network. 17-19. (canceled)
 20. Amethod for communicating with a mobile station, comprising: transmittingan assignment of a set of timeslots for uplink communications;transmitting an instruction to monitor a reduced set of timeslots, thereduced set of timeslots having a number of timeslots less than a numberof timeslots to be monitored in accordance with the assignment; andprioritizing a transmission of a new data block over the transmission ofa NACKED data block to the mobile station.
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the NACKED data block comprises a data block that was previouslytransmitted to the mobile station and for which a negativeacknowledgement has been received.
 22. The method of claim 20, whereinprioritizing the transmission of the new data block over thetransmission of the NACKED data block is performed only once during asingle dynamic timeslot reduction period.
 23. A network component,comprising: a processor, the processor being configured to: transmit anassignment of a set of timeslots for uplink communications; transmit aninstruction to monitor a reduced set of timeslots, the reduced set oftimeslots having a number of timeslots less than a number of timeslotsto be monitored in accordance with the assignment; and prioritize atransmission of a new data block over the transmission of a NACKED datablock to the mobile station.
 24. The network component of claim 23,wherein the NACKED data block comprises a data block that was previouslytransmitted to the mobile station and for which a negativeacknowledgement has been received.
 25. The network component of claim23, wherein the processor is configured to prioritize the transmissionof the new data block over the transmission of the NACKED data blockonly once during a single dynamic timeslot reduction period.